“When you’re in a nail salon, remember, millions or hundreds of people go into that nail salon also and you don’t know what they bring into the area. So it’s a good idea not to walk barefoot between the chairs, between where your shoes are. You should always wear a flip flop or a foot cover,” says Evans.

In addition, those jets swirling the water may feel good, but you could wind up paying the price later.

“Prefer we don’t have jets in the whirlpool because inside those jets, before the water comes out, could be bacteria and fungus and the jets just spread them out throughout the whirlpool,” says Evans.

It should go without saying that unless they’re metal, instruments should only be used on one person.

“Metal instruments are great. They should be sterilized by the salon. Make sure they’re clean and fresh when they come out of the sterilizer. If they don’t do proper sterilization or if you’re worried about that, bring your own instruments,” says Evans.

And there is a “right” way to have your nails trimmed.

“Toenails should be trimmed straight across along the contour of the toe itself. You want to avoid cutting into the skin because that could lead to an ingrown toenail or other problems,” he says.

If you have other foot issues, the salon is not the place to get them treated.

“If you go to get a pedicure and you have a painful corn or callous, it’s a good idea not to ask the pedicurist to treat that for you. That is something that should be treated by a podiatrist,” says Evans.

Evans saw enough patients that had problems created by the “nail polish” patients were using that he created his own line,danipronails.com. It is named after his daughter.

“In a few years, patients would come in with all these different irritations and problems with regular commercial nail polish so I created a nail polish that is toxin free, has good ingredients in it that can help restore and maintain a healthier nail,” he says.

While there may seem to be many rules, those rules will keep your feet healthy.